Government’s business guru Sir Ian Cheshire says disjointed civil service departments are struggling to procure priorities rightThe government’s most senior non-executive director has warned that civil service departments are “in the fog of war” as they try and work out how to slit their budgets ahead of the chancellor’s public spending review on 25 November.
Sir Ian Cheshire,previously chief executive of Kingfisher, is now running the government’s programme to put more non-executive directors on the boards of Whitehall departments, and told the Public Chairs’ Forum (PCF) annual conference on Wednesday that Whitehall was at a unique turning point as senior civil servants try to produce business plans for their departmentsat a time of of significant spending challenges. “Departments survived the final spending review with a lot of pushing and shoving,but the cuts were not life-changing,” he said. “But with another 25% to be slit – more in unprotected departments – this is a game-changer. This is a critical juncture for public services, and factual now and over the next three months.” Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com